Oh boy I really, really was hoping the author was going to decide to go with a first person perspective rather than whatever was with the three stories cause the actual love stories were very cute. the pop star love story was very cute and I was having a good time and I was also really rooting on the dominatrix and claiming your sexuality and embracing BDSM angle but I think the author needed to decide whether she was writing first person or third person because it kept being a weird combo of both that almost become an uncanny valley inner monologue that felt distant. First person perspective is not a bad thing, just commit to it, including the character thinking flawed things and being judgmental because it gives me as a reader to enjoy and judge. Otherwise an okay read.

This novel had me feeling every possible emotion as I read it. The complexities of the intertwined relationships between Golden, Zoe and Melissa made for a hard to put down novel. Ms. Shade wrote a novel that was so much more than the usual women meets love interest women falls in love woman lives happily ever after. I love the formula for romance novel but am I always excited when authors put their own twist on that formula. If you have no interest in spoilers don’t read anything past this point, all comments made afterwards are spoilers. The best way to express my thoughts for how this book made me feel is to split it between the three distinct yet intertwined

Golden and the Rhythm Twins: Falling in love is never easy especially when you have made major life changes and are dealing with some serious childhood trauma from the early death of her father. It is due to this trauma that Golden struggles to deal with her feelings for two women that want to give her the world.

Zoe and Danica: Zoe spent most of her adult life trying to raise her daughter as a single mother while running a business. AS such she has left no time in her life for a relationship. On one fateful afternoon a new client walks into her shop and changes the trajectory of her life.

Melissa and Black/Alex: Melissa starts the novel off at a crossroads. Her family has disowned her due to her sexuality and she hates her job. After a recommendation from her best friend that nets a career managing an art gallery she starts to blossom. Her inspirational new boss also introduces her to the world of BDMS. Before long Melissa begins an additional career as Mistress Heart. It is during her time as a professional Domme she begins to develop feelings for one of her clients that for some reason she can’t help but feel like she’s met them before.

Each of these complex stories could have been told as independent novels but instead we were given a complex story of how the right friends can help you navigate the different changes that romantic relationships have on the way one lives in her truth. I don’t want to go too deep into the details of this novel because I feel everyone should have the opportunity to experience the lives of this beautiful friend group.

I loved the character development! Each of the three main characters had a really distinct personality and each of their stories kept me engaged the whole time!

I felt like this book had great potential but I felt a little let down by it. The three main characters were interesting but I feel like all their stories could have made up separate books - this would have given them the depth they deserved and this would have also left more room for more ‘showing’ and less ‘telling’ when it came to the love stories. Overall this was a solid read, I just think my expectations might have been a little high!

I did enjoy this book because I found all 3 storylines interesting. However there was a lot in one book, it could have been split up maybe. I also found the time jumps difficult - but that is a me thing!! All in all I did enjoy the book

Leather, Lace and Locs by Anne Shade was a refreshing novel about 3 friends who want happiness for each other but, scared to take the leap into love themselves. Golden has given up dance after a tragic loss in her life and wants to keep any new people from entering her circle. Zoe is a single mom, who throws herself into her work. Making sure she maintains a full calendar, keeps her distracted from anything else. Melissa is trying to find her footing in the world after being outcast by her family for her lifestyle. I love how each woman comes into her own, realizing what it is they want out of life and making the hard decision to prioritize themselves. The history aspect of Golden's story and her families ties in France also was such a great part of the story, it had me doing my own research about African American history in Montmartre. Overall, I enjoyed this book. The spice, the sisterhood and the grown woman energy made this book a worthwhile read. I was given a free copy for an honest review through Netgalley.

"Leather, Lace and Locs" by Anne Shade, I found a solid yet occasionally disjointed narrative that follows the intertwined journeys of three women of color as they navigate love, friendship, and self-discovery. While I appreciated Shade's writing style, I couldn't help but feel that the character development in romantic relationships lacked depth, and the frequent time jumps left me feeling confused at times. However, the representation of sapphic fiction in the story is amazing. Overall, "Leather, Lace and Locs" provided an empowering and spicy read that I believe deserves recognition for its diverse representation and immersive storytelling.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for making an advanced copy available.

I thought this was a solid book from Anne Shade and I think most readers will enjoy it. The main characters, Golden, Zoe and Melissa, are interesting, each of their story lines are full enough to keep you engaged, and when they get together, you feel like a part of the friend group.

Where it missed the mark for me was the consistent telling and not showing that went on, especially in the first half of the book. I was not engaged with the love interests for any of them because we never really got to see them fall in love. If this were labeled as women's fiction, then that would have been fine, but it is being marketed as a romance. Each of them meet their love interests fairly early on, but the time that should have been spent building up those relationships gets glossed over. Only one of them, Melissa, actually gets to spend extended time with her love interest Black, and they had some sexy interactions but for a majority of that, Black is anonymous (Melissa begins work as a Dom). Same with the career changes for Melissa and Golden, two major plot points that go from 0-100 with nothing allowing us to see them develop these new fields of interests. Instead, we are told little tidbits and then time jumps and they are now doing these new exciting things.

That was the other thing I didn't like, the time jumping. We would skip ahead a month, several months, a year and it would come out of nowhere. I don't think there is anything wrong with time jumps but often it was in those times not discussed that important events would take place.

Overall, the book is well written and it kept me interested enough to see how it ends, but it felt anticlimactic when it did. I'm always happy to see more sapphic fiction with women of color because it is sorely needed, si I would still recommend others read it and judge for themselves.

This was an awesome read! I really enjoyed our three main characters find their happily ever afters. The different relationship dynamics were fun and added good variety throughout the book. For this being one book about three relationships I could have used more overlap of the story lines to make it a bit more cohesive. Honestly, I would have loved for this to be a trilogy where each book focused on one of the three friends. I think that would have given the author the space to expand the friendship dynamics and the relationship dynamics.

Thanks Net galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this not knowing what this book was about but I knew I loved the cover. This books follows three friends and each friend has a interesting backstory.

For me each character had a story good enough for each to have their own book and I believe I would have enjoyed the book more. The story for each person was so in depth and well develop it was a lot to taken in because it was too much happening for one book.

I didn't know what to make of this book from its blurb but it intrigued me and I always love books by and about people of colour. This is such a good book and I only wish I could have read it faster. I tend to read character led books a lot slower than action led books though so definitely not a fault of the author, just this reader!

I love the character growth from all 3 main characters. I love the mix of queer representation throughout the book. I love how you feel like part of their friend group. I love how their friendship is written.

I love this book. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I received a free copy via Netgalley.

This was my first sapphic book read with just black main characters. Thus even if I cannot fully relate to the struggles they have I still enjoyed the ride of the 3 friends Golden, Melissa and Zoe. During the years of the story they develop to really strong women knowing what they need to be happy and in the end that is all that is needed to find true love.

An entertaining (and spicy) read about the importance of friendship and going after what you want!

Melissa, Golden and Zoe are best friends. All are looking for changes in their professional lives and aren’t sure where romance fits into the picture. Melissa goes from closeted and hiding from her religious parents to a professional Domme. Zoe expands her hair care business and finds professional success while raising her daughter as a single mom. Golden’s passion for dance is reignited and she reconnects with her family history through burlesque.

This was a classic romance novel, but with three romances in one (including 3 third-act breakups). The characters felt fully fleshed out and unique to me. The emphasis was more on Melissa, Golden, and Zoe’s backstories, rather than that of their love interests. I loved that the book focused on the importance of friendship. I also enjoyed the international travel aspects (Paris and St. Kitts). It was also great to see poly rep and non-binary rep!

I’ve read some other reviews that mentioned the time jumps in the narrative were sometimes confusing. I agree that it would have been helpful to have headings indicating that time has changed (“2 weeks later,” “6 months later,” etc.)

I found all three main characters compelling and wish I got to spend more time with each of them. I would have read a full-length book about each character if this were a trilogy. I think a trilogy would have allowed each character to have more depth. For example, (view spoiler) I would have liked to see more of what happened in the intervening time rather than having so many time jumps.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend! I definitely plan to read more of Anne Shade’s work in the future.

Content warnings: (view spoiler)

Highlights:
💖 celebrating both romantic love and the love between friends
💖 sapphic romance: F/F/F, F/F, and F/NB
💖 spicy scenes 🔥🔥🔥
💖 3 best friends all find love
💖 professional dominatrix, burlesque dancer, and hairdresser

Anne Shade's bio says that she "loves writing romances about women who love women featuring strong, beautiful Characters of Color." Boy if this isn't a true statement! This book was the perfect example of love, friendship, and knowing and accepting yourself. The author took her time with this book in the development and growth of the characters. Gold, Melissa, and Zoe were each strong and powerful women, who value the friendship they share. They are all on a journey of change that embodies courage, love, and self-discovery. They are all bosses in their own rights.

I was invested in this story from the beginning. The writing makes me feel like these are my friends, and I'm doing life right along with them. Seeing these three women of color thrive made me so happy and proud. It was great to watch them all navigate their love lives. The open-mindedness of these characters was heartwarming. The diversity in this book was PHENOMENAL! The spice was also *chef's kiss*. This book was EVERYTHING!!

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Melissa Hart is a shy, mousy introvert, afraid to step out of her comfort zone until she dons a mask and leather as the dominatrix persona Mistress Heart. Living a double life, she develops an intimate relationship with a mysterious client who chips away the wall separating Ms. Hart from Mistress Heart to show Melissa the woman she really is.

Golden Hughes had one goal, to turn her passion for dance into a professional career. Then tragedy strikes and Golden sets her dreams aside for a regular job and steady paycheck. Now that she has everything she needs, her passion for dance is reignited in burlesque performance, putting her in the path of two unique and sexy women.

Zoe Grant has spent most of her adult life putting her wants and needs on the back burner to focus on raising her daughter, her career as a beautician, and expanding her family’s natural hair care products business. When a woman running from a painful past comes to the salon for a life-changing haircut, Zoe finds what she wants and needs in the most unexpected way.

Three friends, each on their own path, discover love could lead to happily ever after.

My Take:
Can I be honest for a minute? I hardly read within the women's fiction genre on purpose. This is mainly because marketing often mislabels books and the one's considered "women's fiction" feels like someone (the booksellers, publishers, etc.) didn't try at all and the overall result feels generic. That said, the description of this book sounded promising, and delivered on its promise. I enjoyed weaving in and out of these friends and their lives. If you are trying to figure out if you should read this book, here are some things that might assist you in making that decision:
1. This is a novel that features three Black American, lesbian women,
2. While the premise is sexual and has "spicy" scenes, I would hesitate to call it a romance.
3. These are women in their thirties will grown women concerns.
4. This is a book to read for oneself or perhaps a buddy read: I don't think this is something for a book club read: it lacked points that would generate theories or OMG moments that demand group discussion.

All told, this is a solid book. I am rating it a little over 3 stars, which is why I rounded it out to 4 stars.

Three women, three amazing journeys into confidence, lust and love.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Golden, Melissa and Zoe are the best of friends. Golden has worked in finance for years. After her father’s sudden death, she abandoned her dreams of becoming a professional dancer choosing to fulfill his wish to take care of her family. When she stumbles upon a burlesque performance, Golden is mesmerized. The old flame of love for dancing is rekindled. Her new path brings two very interesting popstars in her life. The Rhythm Twins are alluring and sexy and above all, both very interested in pursuing Golden for more than friendship.

Zoe has worked hard the past decade to not only raise her daughter on her own, but also to make their family hair salon a roaring success. There hasn’t been a lot of time left for her own social and romantic life. Then her salon door opens and a woman with long, beautiful hair enters. She looks like an emotional mess and asks Zoe to shave her hair completely. Zoe can’t help but be drawn to Danice. She wants to be her friend in what is apparently an awful time. Zoe can put her own attraction to the woman on the back burner, right?

Melissa is the quiet one of the threesome. She grew up in a very suppressive family where religion dictated what is good and what isn’t. Being gay did definitely fall into the last category. After ruining an important relationship by being too scared to come out, Melissa slowly starts to take control of her own life. Supported by her friends, she gets a job at an art gallery and starts to flourish into a more confident woman. When the gallery owner introduces Melissa to the world of BDSM and kink play, she discovers her dominant side. As Mistress Heart she quickly becomes the most sought after dominatrix. A new client pushes her out of her comfort zone and soon Melissa’s professional mask begins to slip.

I took me a few pages to get into the story because of all the different characters, but once I was invested I was simply eager to get on for a delicious ride. The three main characters are so well written, they each have distinct personalities and emotional struggles. Their friendship is a sight to behold. Not only are they each other’s sounding board, but they also call each other out and encourage each other to overcome their fears.

As a white woman I am simply not able to completely understand the difficulties in the history and lives of people of color. This story does give me an intimate look into the importance of heritage and being proud of it. The characters in this book each bring so much courage and strength into this world, it’s wonderful to be a part of that for a while.

As the three friends embark on their personal journey you get to see each of them thrive. Expect things to get very, very hot as they explore their new romantic lives!

Leather, Lace and Locs is empowering and hella sexy, it deserves to be savored!

First off, this cover is stunning. Secondly, the character development between the 3 friends and their friendship is what drew me to the story and the plot. It was a solid read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
🌶🌶🌶

I got this as ARC from Netgalley. I really loved the characters Melissa, Golden, and Zoe. They are 3 friends and are trying to find their ever lasting love, which they do eventually. I was confused a little with how the chapters were written. But overall I do recommend this book.

A wonderful story that touches on family, friendship, love and a bit of drama. I was captivated from start to finish. I recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC.

Leather, Lace, and Locs is a wonderful book that works on so many different levels. It’s a story of gender (female and nonbinary), race (Women of Color), relationships (families, friendships, and lovers), ambition (personal and professional), sexuality (lesbian and bisexual), and more. Anne Shade doesn’t rush her story, but instead allows it to develop over a couple of years, dropping in and out of the characters’ lives to show us how they’ve grown.

The story allows us time to get to know Melissa, Golden, and Zoe as women first, to understand where they’ve come from, and to appreciate what they mean to one another. They’re strong, passionate, empowered women, all of whom are on the cusp of change. By the time romance enters the story, we’re already connected to them all, so we’re immediately invested in the relationships that do develop.

As much as I loved the women, I loved the diversity of this story even more. We see Melissa discover an inner strength she didn’t know she had as a professional dominatrix, with a nonbinary client tempting her to take professional personal. Golden walks away from a steady job to pursue her dreams of dancing, building her own burlesque studio, all while she anxiously navigates the temptation of a polyamorous relationship with two women she’s afraid to admit she loves. And then there’s Zoe, who meets a woman through her hair salon who quickly shifts from client to friend to lover, but with a lot of baggage to be sorted. They’re all wonderful story threads but, for me, Golden was the heart and soul of the story, and seeing her find happiness made me happy.

As with any HEA romance, there’s no real drama or suspense in wondering if the women of Leather, Lace, and Locs will find love, but the joy of discovering how they find love is exquisite. Just an altogether lovely read.